K-9 Commands in German for Your Tactical/Working Dog Character.

Schutzhund Training Commands

I am working on my new series Cerberus Tactical K9s, part of my Iniquus World. 

In book one, Survival Instinct, the K9 responds to English language commands as K9 Valor's job is Search and Rescue.

In book two, Protective Instinct, K9 Zeus is trained for both search and rescue and close protection.

Where dogs are both a nose and a bite, handlers will often train their dog using a foreign language as a safety feature. This is particularly useful in the United States where German language studies are less popular than other language choices.

German language is often chosen (along with Czech or Dutch) as the dogs are often bred and initially trained in those countries and purchased for military, law enforcement, or private work here in the U.S.

If you are writing a tactical dog into your plot, you might want to add another layer of interest by using German language commands.

Common Schutzhund Training Commands, their proper pronunciation and their meaning in English.

    ENGLISH                                          GERMAN

• Heel                                                      Fuss(fooss) 
• Sit                                                        Sitz(siitz)) 
• Stay                                                      Bleib(bly’b) 
• Down                                                   Platz 
• Come/Here                                          Hier(hee er)
• Stand                                                    Steh(shtay) 
• Retrieve/Fetch                                     Bring(brrring) 
• Jump                                                    Hopp 
• Go Out                                                 Voraus(for owss) 
• Track                                                    Such  (tsuuk) 
• Guard                                                   Pass auf/Wache 
• Bite                                                      Packen/Fass 
• Out/Let Go                                           Aus(owss) Halte(alt)
• Speak/Bark                                          Gib Laut(geblout) 
• Narcotics/dope                                     Rauschgift 
• Find narcotics                                      Such  Rauschgift 
• Building/Blind                                     Voran
• Kennel/Crate                                        Zwinger
• Go Outside                                           Geh Raus
• Go Ahead                                             Geh Voraus 
• Go Inside                                              Geh rein(gay rine) 
• What is going on?                                Was ist los? 
• Good (praise)                                        So ist brav 
• Correction Word “No”                          Pfui (fooey)Nein (nine)
• Don’t do that!                                        Lass das sein 
• OK                                                         In Ordnung 
• Eat                                                         Nimm Futter
• Stand Still                                              Steht Noch 
• Article Search                                        Such Verloren 
• Leave it                                                  Lass es

When I was in Norway on the trail with the mixed breed sled dogs, they were commanded in Norwegian, of course. 

It was a fabulous experience!

Happy writing!

Fiona